PS: Some readers have commented that the Grail Knights are just T4 cavalry and can't even beat lowly peasant knights in the game. I just want to say, don't take the game's stats as the standard. Games need balance. In the army books and background settings, the Grail Knights are described as the best cavalry in the Old World. And just to clarify, creatures like Dragon Princes are not from the Old World.
Under the cold winter snow, Angron was hammering a chunk of iron ingot. Seeing Ryan, he threw his hammer aside and laughed heartily, "Brother? You're back?"
"Yes, big brother, I'm back. What are you doing here?" Ryan entered and introduced Veronica, "This is my brother, Angron, my actual brother."
"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Angron!" Veronica sweetly greeted him and then curtsied, "I'm Veronica Benardo, Ryan's magic advisor, and his woman."
Garon, the witch, immediately recognized the extraordinary strength of this towering knight.
"Ha ha ha~ Nice to meet you." Angron was initially reluctant to pay much attention to the witch, but upon hearing her last sentence, he felt it warranted a response. The progenitor of the World Eaters nodded, greeting her amicably, "Hello, Ms. Benardo. You can simply call me Angron, like Ryan does."
"Sure, brother Angron!" Garon quickly adapted to the situation, maintaining her quiet demeanor beside Ryan.
"Ryan, my brother, as you know, I need a suitable weapon." Angron motioned for everyone to come inside from the snow, "Just so happens this dwarf arrived, and I wanted to ask him to make a weapon for me."
The workshop, built along the river, covered a large area, fully equipped with all the necessary tools for blacksmithing. The wood elves, given Ryan's presence, patiently waited their turn.
"Hey, tall one, I can't make the weapon you want just like that," a voice came from inside the workshop. The dwarf runesmith Delron-Fainsen, stroking his large beard, emerged from inside. He looked troubled, "Tall one, Mr. Angron, I've never seen the kind of weapon like an axe and hammer you described. Just based on your description, it seems like a powerful magical weapon. Then you also want this axe to have magical attack capabilities, accept energy infusion, and be sturdy. It seems you are asking for too much."
Angron, also troubled, scratched his head, "I think I've described it specifically enough, Mr. Delron. I'm a warrior, not an artist. I've never made weapons. I've only used such a weapon."
"Then if you've used such a weapon, don't you have a sample?" The dwarf's human language was a bit rough, but it was clear enough for everyone to understand.
"Uh... I don't have it with me right now." Angron couldn't provide a satisfactory answer, and the dwarf muttered something in Dwarvish, which no one understood. Only then did the dwarf notice the others who had come.
Ignoring the elves, Delron, patting his belly and holding a large hammer, said to Ryan, "Oh! Baron, the place you showed me is great. Everything's complete, and it's spacious. I like it here! Just needs some adjustments to be functional. If you don't change your mind, I plan to settle here."
"Of course, I won't change my mind, Mr. Delron," Ryan nodded, "The friendship between humans and dwarfs dates back to 1500 years or even further. As long as I'm here, my territory will always welcome my dwarf friends."
"Then I really hope you live a long time, Lord Ryan." Delron liked this straightforward human. He stroked his beard and shook hands with Ryan.
In the midst of their conversation, the runesmith confirmed he would stay in Jean, and Ryan gained a skilled dwarf blacksmith.
Most dwarfs prefer living in the mountains, as they are children of the peaks, but a significant number venture out into human realms.
"Occasionally going outside the mountains and underground, they just know about drinking, brawling, and blasting. If you step out of the mountains, beautiful life awaits, with wealth, honor, and advanced technology waiting."
— Giral Const, Master Dwarf Artisan of the Empire
"Oh! Pointy-ears have come!" After striking a deal with Ryan, the dwarf finally had the energy to deal with the wood elves seeking weapons: "You suddenly order so much from me, how can I make it all at once? I've made some things here, priced them already. You decide."
"You! Damn bearded dwarf…" The captain of the Eternal Guard, Anas, was immediately angered. The wood elves, accustomed to being treated highly, weren't used to such blunt treatment.
The captain's face fluctuated, but considering they were on human land with Ryan present, he nodded, "Alright, we'll see."
The exchange between the elves and dwarf was largely translated by Estel and Ryan, making the process quite laborious.
This was a reflection of the relationship between dwarfs and elves, who fought a bitter war thousands of years ago. Later, when the elves retreated from the Old World, they made peace and agreed to leave the past behind. Because of this, the crown of the Phoenix King of the Elves remains in the dwarf treasure room (the elves had to make a new one), and the dwarfs erased the grudge against the elves from their Book of Grudges.
Despite this, relations between dwarfs and elves remain cool. These two factions never establish direct relations or trade. Elves wanting dwarf craftsmanship and dwarfs desiring elven magic items always have to go through humans as intermediaries.
Although Delron-Fainsen was unpleasant, his workshop had already produced about ten steel longswords and twenty rune breastplates. Although insufficient for the elves' needs, they left a bag of gold coins and hastily took the weapons: "Then, Lord Ryan, we shall take our leave."
"So hasty?" Ryan could see the elves never planned to let external forces involve themselves in their forest matters. He could only ask Estel, who hadn't left with the elves.
Estel, wearing a green cloak over deer fur, smiled bitterly after hearing Ryan, "Yes, in this season, we can't awaken the treemen and ancient tree guardians. We can only rely on ourselves."
"But even at this difficult time, they don't want you, a half-elf, to help?" Ryan half-joked, half-mockingly.
"Indeed, sigh, otherwise I wouldn't have left the forest to seek opportunities." Estel sighed, the half-elf always trying to fit into elven society, but they always saw him as an illegitimate liaison with the outside world. They remember him only when needed, never truly accepting him as one of their own.
"Then stay here. We're old friends. It's no problem to keep a room for you in the castle during the winter." Ryan offered.
"Stay here? Then would you be willing to save a spot for me among your followers?" To Ryan's surprise, Estel counter-offered.
"..." Ryan frowned, realizing the half-elf had his eyes on a knight's position.
Under Baron Jean, there were five Questing Knights and two Kingdom Knights. Among them, Questing Knights included Lops from Nordland, Olivier from Marienburg, Hex from L'Anguille, and Angron, who was chatting with the dwarf artisan. The Kingdom Knights' positions were still vacant, and clearly, the half-elf was eyeing one of the remaining knightly spots.
"I invited you to spend the winter festival with me, not to become my subordinate, Estel. You need more performance to convince me." Ryan naturally refused, but Estel could hear there was room for negotiation.
"I have a friend, also a half-elf like me, a peak-tier Forest Ranger. Can I bring him to join the festival?" Estel asked.
"Of course, my territory welcomes half-elves with various skills and strengths," Ryan brightened, seeing potential.
The Knight Kingdom had the strongest cavalry in the Old World but lacked long-range capabilities, mainly peasant archers. Having skilled half-elf rangers like Estel was ideal.
Peasant archers indeed had bows and arrows, but they lacked the strength and accuracy needed. As long as a peasant could draw a bow and shoot in the enemy's direction, the knights considered them qualified archers.
Only the Duchy of Bastonne had a unique unit, the Longbowmen, using yew bows that took 2-4 years to craft and training from a young age. The Duke of Bastonne granted them better treatment than ordinary serfs, requiring them to train weekly at the castle and register their residence and names.
Thus, training Longbowmen was not easy. Ryan considered using crossbows crafted by dwarfs.
"Mr. Delron, can you make crossbows? The kind dwarfs use? Those that fire by pulling a trigger?" Ryan asked.
"Of course, the Fainsen family can make anything," the dwarf proudly stroked his beard, "Lord Ryan, do you need me to make dwarf crossbows for you? They're simple. I guarantee, as long as they're not fools, training for two or three months can ensure proficient use of these crossbows with decent killing power, though the range is a bit shorter than bows."
"Hmm, Mr. Delron, start by producing some, and I'll have the infantry try them out." Ryan agreed.
"Oh, and Lord Ryan, about your brother's weapon request, I doubt I can make it," Delron added, looking troubled, "I'm not inexperienced in making mithril or vibranium weapons, but I've never heard of a weapon perfectly combining these two metals. Your brother probably wants me to make an artifact, right?"
"Uh..." Ryan thought Angron was probably describing a Power Axe, but how could this world's dwarfs create such a thing with hammers and bellows?
Angron's lack of a suitable weapon was a fact.
Ryan had a mithril vein from the Luigi Trade Association but no vibranium. After a brief discussion, Delron agreed to first produce some mithril soft armor for Ryan and his knights. Angron's weapon would have to wait, as the dwarf only brought a few apprentices to Ryan's territory.
They toured the workshop, now reorganized under the dwarf's orders, feeling refreshed. Delron, walking ahead, said, "I didn't expect such a large workshop here. Seems I have too few hands."
Veronica, holding Ryan's arm, spoke up, her witch's eyes sparkling, "Then, Mr. Delron, you can invite more dwarf friends to join us. As long as they are skilled, they are welcome here."
"Ha ha ha ha ha~" Delron laughed heartily, pointing at Veronica's nose, "Lass, you have beautiful dreams, luring me here and now wanting to lure my kin?"
"It's not deception; it's recruitment. I can allocate a special community for you, pay high salaries, and open more trade routes. If necessary, we can mediate for you and your kin to purchase other goods, like wine from Winfort, gems from wood elves..." Ryan chimed in.
His territory needed dwarfs, and those leaving the mountains also hoped to do something for their kin.
"Hmm... Lord Ryan, you're quite persuasive, but give me a moment. I just arrived and need more time to observe," Delron was indeed tempted. He thought, if Ryan was truly so friendly to dwarfs, he could invite some kin to work here. However, he still needed to observe.
"Alright." Ryan couldn't say more, so he handed Delron a roll of parchment, "This is the new enchantment technique I promised you."
Delron was instantly captivated by the rune on the parchment, shining with white light like a star: "What's this?! New enchantment runes and techniques? Incredible, I've never seen these!"
"Consider it a symbol of friendship between Mr. Delron and me." Ryan handed the parchment to Delron, smiling widely.
"...Everyone out." After studying the parchment, Delron suddenly said, "All of you, leave!"
"What?"
"Out! I need to close the door and study this new rune and enchantment technique. Don't disturb me!"
"Alright, alright!" Ryan and the group left the workshop.
With the door firmly closed, Angron looked at it, then at Ryan and the others, mumbling, "Brother, your move didn't get me a weapon but made me hammer iron for three hours!"
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Everyone laughed, and Ryan patted Angron's arm, "Big brother, I'll find a way for your weapon. I'll ask our father."
"Alright, I'll go back then. It's so cold, I need to add some straw for my cows, or they'll freeze." Angron seemed to be waiting for Ryan's words. Hearing them, he beamed, patting Ryan's shoulder with enough force to kill two cows: "Then I await your good news, ha ha."
After Angron left, Veronica, holding Ryan's arm, whispered, "Where to next?"
"Now we'll visit the vineyard and pick a location for your witch's tower."
"Great~"
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